          
          
          
                              Appeal Process
          
               If you believe there is an error in your
          assessment, you should check the appeal procedure. 
          Usually the procedure is described on your tax bill or
          can be obtained from the assessor's office.  The most
          important part of the procedure is the filing deadline. 
          In some jurisdictions you have a fairly short time
          after receiving the bill, about 30 days, to file an
          appeal.  Miss the deadline and you cannot file an
          appeal until next year's assessment is received.  
          
               In a few jurisdictions, if there is a gross error,
          such as our example of the swimming pool assessed on
          the wrong lot, it may be possible to get a retroactive
          adjustment.  But generally the deadline is absolute, a
          form of statute of limitations, because governments
          have to be certain of the amount of tax they will
          collect.  But if you have corrected an error of this
          type, do take a moment to check your local law in case
          you can get a refund for the past year or so --
          sometimes up to three years.  A few places make a
          distinction between an erroneous payment and a dispute
          over the assessment -- in other words you can't get a
          refund in an argument over valuation, but you might get
          a refund if you were paying on the wrong lot because
          the vacant land next to you was mistakenly added to
          your bill instead of the neighbor on the other side who
          owned it.
          
               Usually it makes sense to talk with the assessor
          before filing a formal appeal.  An obvious factual
          error on the record card can almost always be corrected
          without any trouble.  
          
               Other grounds for appeal often won't be heeded by
          the assessor.  You'll have to go through the appeals
          procedure.  But discuss it with the assessor first.  If
          you can document a reasonable case that is likely to
          succeed, the successor may be quite willing to either
          surrender or compromise.  They have things to do
          besides spending time before appeals boards, and nobody
          likes to be publicly overruled.   Depending upon local
          law, there are times at which the assessor can
          compromise, and times when he cannot.  In general, he
          can negotiate with you before he certifies the tax roll
          and official assessment notices are issued.  Usually
          after that time an appeal is the only recourse because
          the tax roll is no longer under the assessor's legal
          authority.  But even after that time, if you are
          obviously right, he may be prepared to sign a letter of
          support for your position, virtually guaranteeing the
          board will grant it.  For example, if the tax roll has
          already been filed, but you were assessed for a
          swimming pool you don't have, the assessor will
          probably concede the issue in a letter to the appeals
          board rather than go through a public hearing.
          
               These negotiations with the assessor should be
          kept polite and friendly.  Don't accuse him of
          favoritism -- just act as though everything is an
          unintentional mistake.  At the same time, don't be
          misled by statements from the assessor as to why your
          appeal won't succeed.  It may be too late for him to
          correct it, and he'd rather save himself the
          embarrassment of your appealing an issue he knows he
          will lose.
          
               Appeal procedures vary widely, but usually the
          assessor's office will give you an appeal form to file
          and advise you as to deadlines (if they are not already
          printed on the assessment notice).  In many
          jurisdictions you must attach your documentation, such
          as appraisal reports, to the notice of appeal.  Study
          the rules carefully before you file anything.  The
          technicalities are critical, and if you don't follow
          them you will lose.  For example, if the assessment
          date is for a value on January 1st, and you hire an
          appraiser who does a report as of July 1st, you may
          lose because things could have changed in 6 months.  Be
          sure the appraiser you hire knows what the appraisal is
          for, and writes an appropriate report giving his
          estimate of the value on the official tax assessment
          date, not on the date of his appraisal. 
          
               Know in advance what the legal requirements are in
          your state.  The facts you have to prove vary widely
          from state to state.  In some it may be enough to show
          that your assessment was higher than the average for
          your area.  In others you may have to prove that your
          property was assessed at a higher level than the legal
          standard, or higher than nearby comparables, or perhaps
          a mixture of all three.  Know ahead of time what legal
          points you have to cover.  Read the law and/or
          regulations for yourself. Don't just take the
          assessor's word for it.  He is a party to the case, not
          your legal advisor.  You may be able to get free advice
          on the requirements from a local taxpayer's
          association, or they may have their own publications on
          appeals procedures and requirements.  
          
               Appeal hearings tend to be informal.  You should
          have a specific figure that you believe is the correct
          market value, and evidence to support your figure.  A
          generic statement of "it is too high" isn't going to
          get you anywhere -- this is a legal process, even
          though informal.  The burden of proof is on you,
          because you are the one who initiated the case.  The
          assessor does not have to prove that his assessment is
          correct -- you have to prove that it is wrong.
          
               Then you must be prepared to answer questions from
          the board.  The important thing is to answer the
          questions calmly and openly.  Don't be evasive or get
          angry.  The board often is not beyond asking trick
          questions.  A common question is "Would you be willing
          to sell the house for its assessed value, or is that
          too low?"  The assessed value usually is too low for
          resale purposes because the assessed value is a
          percentage of market value.  Don't be fooled by this
          question.  Of course, you wouldn't sell for the
          assessed value, but that isn't relevant.   Assessed
          value and market value and actual sale price are all
          totally different concepts,  A property may have
          different values for different purposes, just as a word
          in the dictionary may have different meanings in
          different contexts.
          
               The next thing to check after obvious property
          errors on the card is whether you have received all the
          exemptions you are entitled to.  Most states have
          special exemptions of various types -- for senior
          citizens who have occupied their home for over five
          years, for disabled veterans, for owner-occupied
          properties, or for low income owners -- and a host of
          others.  You need to find out what exemptions exist in
          your state and see if you qualify for any of them. 
          There is often an annual date by which the local
          assessor must be notified of the claim to an exemption
          in order to obtain it for that year.  In some
          jurisdictions the exemption is renewed automatically as
          long as the same registered owner is listed on the tax
          roll -- in others you may have to file a claim form
          each year by the deadline.  And the deadline may be
          very tight, so leaving your mail unopened while you are
          in the Caribbean for a month could cost you dearly.  If
          you expect to be gone for an extended period, check
          with the assessor's office to see if any such forms
          will be sent during that period, and if you can file
          them before your trip.  Quite a number of jurisdictions
          require an annual card for the owner-occupied
          exemption, certifying that the home was owner-occupied
          on a certain date, such as April 1st.  A few even ask
          if the owner or an immediate family member slept in the
          home on that date.
          
               Though the odds of success at the appeals board
          are high, and millions of people every year do win, you
          might lose.  Then you have to decide whether the case
          is worth taking to court.  You'll definitely need to
          consult a local lawyer to make this decision.  He'll
          know what the procedure is and also will be able to
          evaluate the decided cases to determine your chances
          for success.  You have to balance the amount of money
          at stake (remembering that you will be saved that much
          money each year for the indefinite future) against the
          time and attorney's fees involved.
          
               It is rare for a property owner to challenge an
          assessment, because few know the odds of succeeding or
          realize how likely there is to be an error in the
          assessment.  Because of the amount of money involved,
          it is worth your time to take a trip to the assessor's
          office and examine your property card.  It could save
          you hundreds of dollars per year.
          
          
          
